Norley Wildlife Group – Who are we ?

Think Global – Act Local:  we’re here to help wildlife….

For the past eight years NWG has tried to maintain and improve biodiversity in the Parish in line with the Neighbourhood plan. We want everyone in Norley to try and make a difference, no matter how small, to enhance Norley’s natural environment and help its wildlife.  See, our Mission statement.

In 2015 we established a network of wild flower areas around Norley linked by a walk (see Norley Wildflower Memorial Walk). We have continued to manage this as well as caring for other special areas such as the Memorial Garden, the Wild wood (St. John’s Chruch Wood) and keeping the Mosses such the precious Flaxmere Moss, a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest), clear of damaging invasive species. The restoration of Breech Moss continues to prove difficult but once completed it will become as wonderful as Flaxmere. The Waste (West View Road) has been transformed and it’s restored pond will now allow Great Crested Newts to thrive. New paths have been put in, thousands of snowdrops, Wild English daffodils, native blue bells and cowslips have been planted, and at least a 100 kg of wildflower seeds sown.

Studying our environment ensures we can protect Norley’s natural assets. In 2016 we began working to create a detailed map of Norley’s natural habitats, the wildlife they support and how they link together. This has progressed so we now have a much better idea of what we have and what needs to be done to make it better. As part of this we have been identifying ancient trees, each of which can be a critical ecosystem in its own right.

Here to help you….

We want to help everyone to appreciate Norley’s natural assets. This new website will be developed into an invaluable resource to share what we know about wild Norley.

The wild flower walk is supported by a number of information boards and hand held guides.  Every year on Remembrance Sunday we carry out a Poppy Crosses walk.  The now annual “Beating the Bounds – Commons Health Assessment walk”, has become a vital pilgrimage for wildlife.

We continue to promote the group through the media such as NWG’s Facebook page, sharing pages with Norley Village and the Wild Norley articles in the Norley News.

We share our specialist knowledge with talks including school visits.

We offer advice on wildlife and environmental issues – just ask! If we can’t help we probably know someone who can.

Here to listen….

If you spot anything interesting or have a suggestion, we want to know. Sightings of unusual animals and plants are welcome, but even a dead polecat or badger can be a valuable source of information! Don’t hesitate, please contact us.

Who are we?

People with a passion for all things wild, united to safeguard and increase the biodiversity in and round our village so that future generations can enjoy this special place. We came together to advise our Neighbourhood Plan on biodiversity aspects. Now we’re working on further developments – nationally and globally wildlife is threatened and declining and we look at what can be done on our own doorstep to help mitigate this. We’re not all ‘experts’ – though we do have specialist knowledge in a number of areas from bee keeping to native plants.

Our Approach

As a Community Organisation, we meet regularly usually at our local pub and hold work parties once or twice each month. Activities range from removing unwanted species from our local mosses to planting and caring for wild flowers. We run fund raising activities and take part in local events such as the Norley Garden Show held in September.

We couldn’t do our work effectively without the support of our Parish council and we work closely with Cheshire West and Chester Council, Cheshire Wildlife Trust and latterly Chester Zoo in it’s Local Wildlife Recovery initiative. In particular we also need the help of occupiers and landowners to help us carry out habitat mapping on their land.

If you’d like to get involved, we’d love to hear from you. No expertise needed just passion and enthusiasm. Please do get in touch, just click the link to go to our Facebook Page.